Texts and Translations

Question 1

Define variant reading.

Answer 1

Variant readings are copies of the text with transmission errors and changes.

Question 2

What languages was the Old Testament written in?

Answer 2

Primarily Hebrew with some Aramaic

Question 3

How many books are in the Protestant canon?

Answer 3

39

Question 4

What does Ketubim stand for?

Answer 4

Writings

Question 5

Define original autograph.

Answer 5

This is the original copy of the text by the author. None of these survive today.

Question 6

Who were the Masoretes?

Answer 6

A group of Jewish scribes who added vowel points and punctuation marks to the Old Testament.

Question 7

What does Torah stand for and which books does it encompass?

Answer 7

Law - Genesis through Deuteronomy (Pentateuch)

Question 8

What has textual criticism shown?

Answer 8

It shows that very little of importance to the meaning of the text was changed over the hundreds of years of copying.

Question 9

Define Samaritan Pentateuch.

Answer 9

A translation of the first five books of the Old Testament into Samaritan from the 5th-4th centuries BC.

Question 10

Define Aramaic.

Answer 10

Aramaic was the “lingua franca” (common language) of the Persian era. It is very similar to Hebrew.

Question 11

What is textual criticism?

Answer 11

Textual criticism takes the copies from all the variants and translated languages and creates a tree to try to get back to the original autograph.

Question 12

What is the Tanak?

Answer 12

The Tanak is Hebrew canon, separated into Torah, Nebiim, and Ketubim.

Question 13

What are Hebrew and Aramaic like in contrast to English?

Answer 13

• Alphabetic (syllables stand for a sound)
• Consonantal
• Originally lacked vowels
• Read right to left
• Verb tense stresses whether actions are complete rather than focusing on time

Question 14

Define the Targums.

Answer 14

These were pre-Christian paraphrases of the Old Testament written in Aramaic.

Question 15

What does Nebiim stand for?

Answer 15

Prophets

Question 16

Define the Masoretic text.

Answer 16

This is the name for the Hebrew language version of the Old Testament.

Question 17

What is the symbol for the Septuagint?

Answer 17

LXX

Question 18

Define textual criticism.

Answer 18

Textual criticism examines all the variants of Scripture and creates a tree to try to derive the text of the original autograph.

Question 19

Approximately from when to when did the Masoretes exist?

Answer 19

From 500 to 900 AD.

Question 20

How is the Protestant canon arranged?

Answer 20

• Pentateuch (same as Torah)
• Historical books in order they happened
• Poetry and wisdom
• Prophets

Question 21

Define the Vulgate.

Answer 21

A translation of the Old Testament into Latin by Jerome in the 4th and 5th centuries AD.

Question 22

Where was the Samaritan Pentateuch used?

Answer 22

In the northern part of former Israel.

Question 23

Define Septuagint.

Answer 23

A translation of the Old Testament text from Hebrew into Greek around 250 BC.

Question 24

Rather than emphasizing time like English, what does Hebrew tend to emphasize?

Answer 24

Where an action has completed yet or not.

Question 25

How many books are in the Hebrew canon?

Answer 25

24

Question 26

How is the Hebrew canon different from Protestant?

Answer 26

• Lots of consolidation
• 12 minor prophets combined
• Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah not separated
• Different ordering
• Poetry and wisdom in Ketuvim

Question 27

Give three criteria for a book being accepted as canon.

Answer 27

• Consistent with other divine revelation
• Bears prophetic teaching
• People have sense of God speaking